Eye on Alumni: Sascha Bützer '11
Sascha Bützer (Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets) is a trainee in the European Central Bank, where he has experienced the Euro area's economic crisis first hand, both in conference rooms and on the street where Occupy movement protesters camp out near the hallmark Euro sign.
Tell us a bit about the projects you're working on.
As a trainee at the ECB’s EU Neighbouring Regions Division in the Directorate General International and European Relations, I am currently involved in a project that tries to assess the effect of oil shocks on global exchange rate configurations. Thanks to the fast-paced work environment my two co-authors and I produced a paper in just two months time which will be submitted to the ECB’s Working Paper Series after suggestions from conference participants have been taken up.
In the upcoming months my tasks at ECB will include the estimation of equilibrium exchange rates, contributions to the ECB’s annual “The international role of the euro” report and the implementation of a dynamic factor model to forecast economic developments in non-EU countries.
It sounds like there's never a dull moment at the European Central Bank!
One thing in particular I like about being at ECB are the ample occasions to engage in conversations with some of the world’s most brilliant economic thinkers. At the event marking the end of Jean-Claude Trichet’s term as president of the ECB for instance, I found myself queuing up next to IMF’s Olivier Blanchard to sign the guestbook. But also the diversity and knowledgability of ECB staff itself, with people coming from all across Europe, creates quite an extraordinary and invigorating atmosphere to exchange views and conduct economic analysis in – very much like Barcelona GSE in this respect.
Another exciting aspect of my stay here in Frankfurt is without doubt the development and handling of the Euro area’s ongoing economic crisis which I get to witness first hand, be it in conference rooms or on the street where protesters from the Occupy movement have camped up right across the hallmark Euro sign.
When you're not dealing with protesters, how are you applying what you learned in the Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets master?
I have to give credit to the macroeconomics master for the excellent preparation to tackle the manifold research opportunities in international macroeconomics, finance and policy design I am encountering at European Central Bank. And to the Barcelona GSE’s reputation of equipping students with the necessary tools to do so, which surely was an asset in getting here in the first place!
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